Every week, Alexa is curating the hottest fashion drops, hotel openings, restaurant debuts, and celebrity-studded cultural events in NYC. This is our curated guide to the best things to see, shop, taste and experience around the city.
What’s on our luxury list this week? The St. Regis has resurfaced following a renovation, with Japanese lacquer and a spectacular show by Isaac Mizrahi back on stage.
The St. Regis is looking quite glamorous and fresh, especially for its soon-to-be-built 120 Fifth Avenue stronghold. Several public spaces in the Beaux-Arts building went under the proverbial knife, including the lobby, two dining spaces and the iconic King Cole bar. This is an old-meets-new-looking timeless strategy by Champalimaud Design, keeping classic objects like the original Tiffany & Co. and Waterford chandeliers while adding custom de Gournay wallpaper and lots of velvet and fringe. The result, says Alexandra Champalimaud, “revives the hotel magically.” StRegis.com
Tickets are now on sale for “Isaac Mizrahi – A Holiday Fruitcake” at Café Carlyle at The Carlyle Hotel on November 26, 27, 29 and 30. What better way to entertain the family at Thanksgiving than in a grand venue like this classic New York hotel, where the likes of Eartha Kitt and Bobby Short once performed? They will be entertained by the creative multi-hyphenate’s “eclectic mix of holiday classics, unexpected musical choices and distinctive wit…a blend of humor, storytelling and song.” The best part is that no one has to cook. We recommend booking now, as their highly entertaining shows sell out quickly. Tickets are available through talk (Scroll down as the lists are in chronological order).
It’s been almost 20 years since Nana Onishi opened her first eponymous gallery specializing in traditional Japanese art in Chelsea. Earlier this week they inaugurated a new space in a historic building on East 79th Street (the Sidney Ripley Mansion, to be exact) that housed two concurrent exhibitions of lacquer objects. The first, “The Spirit of Noto: Urushi Artists of Wajima” highlights three Living National Treasures – Yamagishi Kazuo, Komori Kuni, and Mae Fumio – and fourteen other artists who are all working with the artist. urushiSap of Japanese lacquer tree. The second, “Waves of Resilience”, is a tabletop designed by interior designer Melissa Bowers and made by Senshudo, the renowned manufacturer of lacquerware. On view till October 25 OnishiGallery.com.
Uniqlo’s sister brand, Gu, has opened its first store in the US on Broadway, just south of Houston. Founded in 2006, the brand (whose name is derived from the Japanese word “jiu” or “free and unfettered”) simultaneously launched a US website and app. The store is huge – approximately 10,000 square feet – spread over two levels. It features men’s and women’s clothing, shoes, bags and accessories galore, including a new 22-piece collaboration with Undercover. Called KOSMIK/NOISE, it includes track jackets and pants, convertible pieces with detachable sleeves and hems, and items intentionally designed inside-out with exposed seams. GU-Global.com
Alex Stupak, the chef/owner behind all the goodness at Empellon, has also opened a new restaurant manner Hotel on Thompson Street. Otter, as it is called, is touted as a “neighborhood seafood restaurant”, designed by Milan-based Hannes Peer Architecture with Standard International’s in-house design team (The Manor is a Standard International hotel). Installed in the designed roadside area. Its menu is heavy surf with some turf. Mean fried fish, a lobster roll and salt-roasted head-on shrimp are balanced by offering a double cheeseburger and a New York strip steak, albeit with crawfish béarnaise. beaver.nyc.
